A weblog, mostly about knitting but other topics appear

The children who lost their mother as discussed in my previous blog grew up and married and had children of their own.

Lucy Jewett Miller, the little girl born in 1866, grew up in Newark to marry Clifford Stanley Kerr in 1895. He was a year younger. They had 2 children. She lived in the Newark all her life until her death in 1929, aged 63.

Charles Dion Miller, the little boy born in 1867, also grew up in Newark and married Maud Miller Parr in Chicao in 1892.

Perhaps mystery is too strong a word, but I’m trying to figure out why/how my grandmother, Mary Elizabeth Murdock, went from her home in Crown Point New York out to Ohio in 1880 and subsequently married my grandfather, Charles Dana Miller.

Charles had been a widower since his young wife had died in 1869 leaving him with 2 young children. Charles lived and worked in Mount Vernon, Knox County. He was a member of a large family, being the 9th child of James Miller and Sarah Warner. James and Sarah had migrated from Vermont to Mount Vernon Ohio earlier in the 1800’s. Crown Point New York borders Vermont and it is possible that the Crown Point Murdock family would know some of the Miller family who had migrated West. Family contacts or friends.

What I am postulating is that my grandmother as a 17 year old girl heard word that my 42 year old widowed grandfather wanted a housekeeper or a tutor for his teenage children. Up to that point possibly the children had been looked after by members of Charles’ extended family or by his deceased wife’s family.

So I am consulting the U.S. Census records for the years 1870 and 1880 to see if I can find any trace of the children Charles Dion Miller and Lucy Jewett Miller.

here’s my big chart 24″ x 36″, 9 generations starting with me and then read from left to right, my parents and then my grandparents

Dad’s childhood home Buena Vista Hill Newark Ohio

This is the house where my grandparents lived. I’m told it’s still there.

As I’ve written before in my blog posts about my grandmother, she married a widower with 2 teen age children. I haven’t found any subsequent information or references to these two children. I’m curious. One would think that they would continue to figure in their father’s and new stepmother’s lives. But I don’t recall ever hearing anything more about them.

Somewhere in various bits of family letters etc. I do recall coming across a very tender and loving letter written by my grandfather to Lucy when she was about 10 – I’ll search for that letter – I hope I can find it.

Also I vaguely recall that his siblings helped look after the infants Lucy and Charles. The widowed Charles had a large number of siblings, some of whom might have helped in this sad situation. Specifically, his sister Volney might have taken on the young children – again I think I found this somewhere – now to find it again.

I’ve turned to Ancestry.com to gather more information.

Lucy Jewett Miller b. 1866 d.1929 At age 29 (in 1895) she married Clifford Stanley Kerr. Clifford was a year younger. She is buried in Cedar Hill Cemetery Newark